Top Stories

Artemis 2 Back at the Pad, Targeting April 1 Launch

NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft have rolled back out to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The current launch target is April 1. This would be the first crewed SLS flight — four astronauts on a lunar flyby trajectory.

If the April 1 date holds, watch for the stack in your KeepTrack field of view once Orion reaches orbit. The spacecraft will follow a free-return trajectory around the Moon before splashdown.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Progress MS-33 Resumes Russian ISS Cargo Flights from Repaired Baikonur Pad

Russia’s Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft is launching March 22 from Site 31/6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome. The pad has been offline since the Soyuz MS-28 launch roughly four months ago. Progress MS-33 carries supplies to the ISS under the designation Progress 94 by NASA.

The two-day rendezvous profile is standard for Progress missions. Once docked, track the ISS to monitor the combined stack.

Read the full story: Space.com

€140 Million in ESA Launcher Challenge Funding at Risk of Being Lost

Nearly €140 million ($162 million) allocated by ESA member states to support European launch vehicle development has not been disbursed and may be forfeited. The funds were tied to the European Launcher Challenge program, which was intended to back commercial launcher competitors.

This is a direct hit to Europe’s ambition to build an independent commercial launch sector. Without this funding, several smaller European launch startups lose a critical source of early-stage capital.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Rocket Lab Launches Eighth Synspective SAR Satellite on March 20

Rocket Lab delivered Synspective’s eighth StriX synthetic aperture radar satellite on March 20. The Japanese Earth observation company is building a commercial SAR constellation for frequent ground imaging, including in all-weather and nighttime conditions.

Eight satellites gives Synspective meaningful revisit rates over target areas. SAR constellations are increasingly used in defense and disaster response applications.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Progress MS-33 Pad Resumption Covered in Detail by NASASpaceFlight

NASASpaceFlight has the full technical breakdown of the Progress MS-33 mission, including pad repair timelines at Site 31/6 following the Soyuz MS-28 launch in late 2025. The piece covers vehicle configuration and the Baikonur launch sequence.

This mission is the first Russian ISS logistics flight from the repaired facility. Watch the docking approach live via ISS trackers once the vehicle is in orbit.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

Officina Stellare Signs €1.84M Contract to Build Lasercom Ground Station in Spain

Italian optics manufacturer Officina Stellare has a €1.84 million ($2.0 million) contract with Barcelona’s Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). The work covers design and construction of an optical ground station supporting laser and quantum-encrypted space-to-ground communications.

The station will be located in Spain and is aimed at future optical laser communications links with satellites. Quantum-encrypted downlinks are an emerging priority for both commercial and government space programs.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Blue Origin Scales New Glenn Production, Announces Orbital Data Center Concept

Blue Origin is increasing New Glenn manufacturing throughput at its Cape Canaveral facility. The company also unveiled plans for an Orbital Data Center — satellites in LEO hosting compute infrastructure for commercial cloud customers.

New Glenn flew its second mission in early 2026. Higher production cadence is required before the rocket can compete for the kind of launch volume that makes an orbital data center economically viable.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

Satellite of the Day

MUOS-1

MUOS-1 (Mobile User Objective System-1) is a critical communications satellite operated by the Space and Missile Systems Center (SPAWSD) for the U.S. military. Launched on February 24, 2012, aboard an Atlas V 551 from Cape Canaveral, this 6,740 kg spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin to provide secure, mobile communications to military personnel worldwide. With a designed operational lifetime of 15 years, MUOS-1 marked the beginning of a next-generation constellation intended to replace aging UHF communication systems and offer improved bandwidth and coverage for tactical operations.

The satellite operates from a highly inclined geostationary-like orbit (5.3° inclination) and features an impressive 28.7-meter solar array span when fully deployed. Its sophisticated communications payload includes multiple antennas designed to handle simultaneous military communications across broad geographic areas. MUOS-1 successfully reached stable orbit on February 25, 2012, and has since become a cornerstone of U.S. military space-based communications infrastructure, supporting everything from naval operations to battlefield command and control.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track MUOS-1

Upcoming Space Launches

March 22

• Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) Soyuz 2.1a:

  • Progress MS-33 (94P) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan, Launch Pad 31/6 (11:59 UTC) Roscosmos will launch the Progress MS-33 resupply spacecraft (known as Progress 94 by NASA) to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz 2.1a rocket. Watch Live Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-62 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA, Space Launch Complex 40 (14:43 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

• China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3:

  • Unknown Payload from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, Haiyang offshore launch location (15:39 UTC) Details to be determined.

March 23

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum:
  • Onward and Upward from Andøya Spaceport, Orbital Launch Pad (20:00 UTC) Spectrum’s second test flight, carrying six payloads: CyBEEsat (TU Berlin), TriSat-S (University of Maribor), Platform 6 (EnduroSat), FramSat-1 (NTNU), SpaceTeamSat1 (TU Wien Space Team), and the “Let it Go” experiment from Dcubed. Payload integration and deployment is managed by Exolaunch. Previously delayed from January 21 due to a pressurization valve issue. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 24

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-17 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA, Space Launch Complex 4E (23:03 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

March 25

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A (09:14 UTC) A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch the first two satellites — IOD-1 and IOD-2 — of the European Space Agency’s Celeste LEO-PNT constellation into a 510 km circular orbit. This pathfinder mission inaugurates a planned 11-satellite constellation designed to complement existing navigation systems such as Galileo and GNSS, improving resilience and positioning, navigation, and timing services in low Earth orbit.

March 26

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 10-44 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA, Space Launch Complex 40 (11:22 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

March 27

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 2C:

  • Unknown Payload from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China, Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) (04:04 UTC) Details to be determined.

• RKK Energiya Soyuz-5:

  • Demo Flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan, Launch Pad 45/1 (11:00 UTC) The demonstration flight of Russia’s new Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) launch vehicle, carrying a mass simulator. The Soyuz-5 is a two-stage rocket capable of lifting 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit, powered by an RD-171MV engine on the first stage and two RD-0124MS engines on the second stage. It is intended to replace the Zenit-2 and Proton Medium vehicles.

March 29

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:
  • Amazon Leo (LA-05) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA, Space Launch Complex 41 (07:53 UTC) United Launch Alliance will launch the fifth dedicated mission for Amazon’s Leo broadband constellation (formerly Project Kuiper) aboard an Atlas V 551. The constellation aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet access globally, ultimately comprising 3,276 satellites deployed across 98 orbital planes at altitudes between 590 and 630 km.

Schedule Changes

• Long March 2C | Unknown Payload has been newly added to the manifest, scheduled for March 27 at 04:04 UTC from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China (status: Go for Launch).
• Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-05) has been newly added to the manifest, scheduled for March 29 at 07:53 UTC from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (status: Go for Launch).

Note: Launch dates and times are subject to change due to technical or weather considerations.